An Analysis Of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar From The Perspective Of Alienation

Sylvia Plath is a brilliant and enormously talented woman writer in the twentieth century. During Sylvia’s ephemeral thirty year’s lifetime, in addition to the large quantities of poems, she only wrote one novel-The Bell Jar. The thesis attempts to interpret the alienation faced by Esther and Esther’s strife for getting away from it during her transformation from juvenile adolescence to adulthood autonomy.The thesis is divided into five parts.Apart from a brief introduction to Sylvia’s life and her only novel The Bell Jar, the first chapter mainly covers the literature review of Sylvia and her works home and abroad in the recent years. The realistic significance of the thesis is to find some suggestions for the construction of a harmonious society in the coming modern society.The second chapter concentrates on the origin, definition, interpretation of alienation. In essence, alienation is identified with isolation, loneliness, estrangement, powerlessness, desperation and etc. With the rapid development of capitalistic economy, the widening gap between the poor and the rich, the gradual decay of the traditional faith and the continuous pursuit of worldly wealth give rise to alienation in the society.The third and fourth chapter laid emphasis on Esther’s suffering from alienation and Esther’s strife for a rebirth. As a woman in1950s in America, Esther lives in an airless and suffocating environment. Her initiation is accompanied by confusion, helplessness and attempt. In her transformation from child to adult, Esther experiences tremendous pressure. The patriarchal social order, the hypocrisy of her boyfriend, and the lack of parents’ love all adds to the inner loneliness and pain of Esther, eventually contributing to her mental breakdown. She keenly feels the alienation from people around her and tries to find reasons. She has undergone several suicide attempts and eventually finds a way out by losing her chastity to get her freedom and rebirth.The last chapter is the conclusive part. On the basis of the above chapters, the thesis stresses that Esther’s mental breakdown is the tragedy of her times. Her final recovery and rebirth brings us hope. When all the people in the society sense the necessity for the amendment of human relations as the contemporary are doing with awareness, Esther’s tragedy can be avoided through the repetitive endeavors.